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Wednesday, June 29, 2005

If you could say something to one person, who would it be, what would you say and why?

I'll table my entry for a later time.

Finally some new PQAL Pictures!

Em has a Speedo floatie suit that she uses to swim by herself and is a total fish, however, when she doesn't have it on, there is always someone in the pool with her and she has her little noodle to further practice swimming on. She LOVES to swim. as these pictures will show!

Em swimming away from MommyEm Swimming to MommySomeday I'll be a mermaid if I can just swim enough!Em loves her daddy! He swims with her every day. His whole family are swimmers. His brother and sister went to state for swimming and Matt used to swim as well.

MONDAY MEALS for the 4th of July!

Since there are such a variety of tastes out there, I am including SEVERAL different BBQ recipes today. A veritable plethora of choices for you to choose how you want to celebrate your 4th of July weekend!

Round Out The Meal Serve with your favorite steamed vegetable and a whole wheat roll.

If you don't have a grill, you can use your oven Place ribs on rack of broiler pan. Reserve 1/2 cup of the barbecue sauce mixture as directed. Brush ribs with some of the remaining barbecue sauce mixture. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until ribs are cooked through, turning and brushing occasionally with the remaining barbecue sauce mixture. Serve with the reserved barbecue sauce mixture as directed.

PREHEAT grill to medium-high heat. Mix brown sugar and seasonings. BRUSH steaks with oil. Sprinkle seasoning mixture evenly over both sides of steaks; press gently into steaks to secure. GRILL 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

Round Out The Meal Grill assorted vegetables along with the steak. You can also make my Famous Mashed Potatoes (which, yes I will include them again in this post) or do a large baked potato with all the fixin's.

PREHEAT grill to medium heat. Place chops on grill; brush with some of the barbecue sauce. Reserve 1/4 cup of the remaining barbecue sauce for spreading onto rolls. GRILL chops 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until chops are cooked through (170°F), adding onions to the grill during the last 4 minutes of the meat grilling time, turning after 2 minutes and brushing the chops occasionally with the remaining barbecue sauce. SPREAD cut sides of rolls with reserved barbecue sauce. Fill with chops, onions, lettuce and tomatoes.

PREHEAT grill to medium heat. Mix meat and 1/4 cup of the barbecue sauce. Shape into 6 patties. GRILL patties 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until cooked through (160°F), turning and brushing occasionally with the remaining 1/4 cup barbecue sauce for the last 5 minutes of the grilling time. Top each patty with 1 Singles; continue grilling 2 minutes or until Singles begin to melt. PLACE lettuce and tomatoes on bottom halves of rolls; top with burgers, pickles and tops of rolls.

PREHEAT broiler or grill to medium heat. Mix meat and 1/4 cup of the barbecue sauce. Shape into 4 patties. BROIL patties 4 to 6 inches from heat or grill patties 7 to 9 minutes on each side or until cooked through (160°F). Top with Singles; continue cooking until Singles begin to melt. COVER bottom halves of rolls evenly with lettuce and tomato; top with cheeseburgers, remaining 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, bacon and tops of rolls.

PREHEAT grill to medium heat. Mix meat and seasoning mix; shape into 4 patties. GRILL patties 7 to 9 minutes on each side or until cooked through; top with Singles. Grill an additional 1 to 2 minutes or until Singles are melted. TOP bottom halves of rolls with lettuce, burgers and salsa. Cover with tops of rolls.

Use Your Stove Mix meat with seasoning mix and shape into patties as directed. Cook in skillet on medium heat 4 to 6 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Top patties with Singles; cover. Cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes or until Singles are melted. Continue as directed.

Great Substitute Substitute KRAFT DELI DELUXE American Cheese Slices for the Singles and/or hamburger buns for the kaiser rolls.

Purchasing Fresh Fish When purchasing fresh fish fillets and steaks, make sure that they have a firm texture, moist appearance and fresh odor (they should not smell fishy). Store in the coldest part of the refrigerator for no more than 2 days.

Use Your Broiler Preheat broiler to medium-high. Place salmon on greased rack of broiler pan. Broil, 3 to 5 inches from heat, 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until salmon flakes easily with fork, brushing occasionally with the reserved dressing mixture.

Great Substitute Substitute halibut or swordfish steaks for the salmon steaks.

Use Your Broiler Mix barbecue sauce mixture as directed. Place salmon on rack of broiler pan 3 to 5 inches from heat. Broil 4 minutes on each side. Brush generously with barbecue sauce mixture. Broil an additional 2 to 4 minutes or until salmon flakes easily with fork, turning once and brushing occasionally with the remaining barbecue sauce mixture.

Ok, I am giving you my secret mashed potato recipe. It is extremely easy to make, but I have never failed to have someone ask for the recipe wherever I have brought it. The secret is in the taste. I personally no longer really measure, it is all by taste to me, but when I started out, I used this recipe. I originally got it from Martha Stewart and modified it to my tastes. (Mine tastes better!) This is NOT for the faint of heart as it is very generous with the calories. It also doesn't taste as good with anything less than what is here.

4 large peeled Russet baking potatoes1 1/2 sticks salted butter - almost room temperature (BUTTER - NOT the fake Oleo or Margarine crap)1/2 cup HEAVY whipping cream (regular will suffice for a sub if you can't find the heavy kind)Salt and (Fine Ground Black)Pepper to taste (sometimes I add a little garlic powder to make "hint of garlic" mashed potatoes but I am not using that in today's recipe)

Cube potatoes and put in large pot with enough water to cover the potatoes and add some salt to the water. Not much, maybe 1 tbsp. This will hellp the potatoes absorb flavor during the cooking process.

When potatoes are fork tender (meaning you can pierce them easily with a fork), drain completely. Take an electric mixer with the paddle attachment if you have it (regualr attachment will work ok if you don't have a paddle attachment)and mix until most of the potatoes are mashed with only a few lumps left. You won't get all the lumps out in this step.

Add the butter and mix completely into the potatoes. Your potatoes should start to have a creamy consistency already and the lumps should be mostly out by now.

Next heat the HEAVY whipping cream until it is HOT - this is best in a pyrex measuring cup. Start by pouring in 1/4 cup of the cream and mixing completely. Taste the potatoes. If you feel like they are not creamy enough, add more of the cream and mix thoroughly again. Taste again and add more butter and/or cream if you want to.

Last, add salt and fine ground black pepper for taste.

Makes approx 6 servings.

This is an extremely easy mashed potato recipe, but the steps must be followed in order. I've found that for some reason it tastes different if you add everything together at the same time instead of in steps. These are suposed to be THICK, heavy and rich potatoes. Not whimpy, thin and tasteless. These potatoes are the staple of my meals for steaks, BBQ chicken, chicken friend steak, etc. You can never go wrong with these. I hope you enjoy them. Please let me know if you try them and what you thought.

Abuela's Easy and Delicious Potato SaladUnlike the other potato salads, this one does not need refrigerating and can be served immediately after making. My Mother-In-Law makes this all the time!

MIX mayo and seasonings in large bowl. ADD potatoes and onion; mix lightly. Cover. REFRIGERATE several hours or overnight.

Use Your Microwave To cook the potatoes in the microwave, place quartered potatoes and 1/3 cup water in 3-quart microwaveable casserole dish; cover. Microwave on HIGH 14 to 16 minutes or until tender, stirring after 8 minutes. Drain.

COOK and stir onions and red peppers in margarine in large skillet on medium-high heat until tender. Reduce heat to low. STIR in corn and VELVEETA LIGHT. Cook 5 to 7 min. or until VELVEETA is completely melted and mixture is heated through, stirring occasionally. SPOON corn mixture into serving bowl; sprinkle with tortilla chips and cilantro.

MIX beans and 1/2 cup of the cheese in 1-quart microwavable dish; cover. MICROWAVE on HIGH 3 to 4 minutes or until heated through; stir. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Microwave, uncovered, 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. SPRINKLE with tomato and onions.

Size It Up The cheese, tomato and onions liven up canned refried beans to make a flavorful side dish perfect for a special occasion.

Great Substitute Prepare as directed, using TACO BELL HOME ORIGINALS Refried Beans with Mild Green Chiles.

ADD milk to pudding mix in medium saucepan; stir until well blended. Lightly beat egg yolks in small bowl. Add to milk mixture; mix well. Cook on medium heat until mixture comes to full boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. ARRANGE layer of wafers on bottom and up side of 2-quart baking dish. Top with layers of 1/3 of the pudding and 1/2 of the banana slices. Repeat layers, ending with remaining pudding. BEAT egg whites and cream of tartar in medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Spread over pudding, sealing to edge of dish. BAKE at 350°F for 15 minutes or until meringue is browned. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm or refrigerate until ready to serve. Store leftover pudding in refrigerator.

Size It Up At 12 servings, this elegant Southern dessert is a perfect ending for any dinner party menu.

Special Extra Garnish with additional banana slices dipped in lemon juice to prevent darkening just before serving.

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Beat cream cheese, sugar, peel, juice and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix just until blended. POUR into crust. BAKE 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Top with whipped topping just before serving. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

Great Substitute Frozen sour cherries, thawed and drained, can be substituted for the fresh sour cherries.

How To Make Lattice-Top Pie Prepare bottom crust and fill with cherry filling as directed. Cut second pie crust into 10 (1/2-inch-wide) strips with pastry wheel or sharp knife. Place 5 of the strips over filling. Weave lattice crust with remaining strips by folding back alternate strips as each cross strip is added. Fold trimmed edge of lower crust over ends of strips. Seal and flute edge. Bake as directed.

STIR boiling juice into dry gelatin in large bowl at least 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add enough ice cubes to cold juice to measure 1 cup. Add to gelatin; stir until slightly thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. Add 2-1/2 cups of the whipped topping; stir with wire whisk until well blended. Refrigerate 20 to 25 min. or until mixture is very thick and will mound. SPOON into crust. REFRIGERATE several hours or overnight. Top with the remaining whipped topping and fruit just before serving. Store in refrigerator.

PREHEAT oven to 325°F if using a silver 9-inch springform pan (or to 300°F if using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan). Mix wafer crumbs, 1/4 cup of the hazelnuts and the butter; press firmly onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes. BEAT cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Add sour cream and liqueur; mix well. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup hazelnuts. Pour over crust. BAKE 1 hour to 1 hour 5 minutes or until center is almost set. Run small knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

Great Substitute Substitute 2 Tbsp. milk and 1 Tbsp. vanilla for the liqueur.

oh my word it took me a long time to get to the comments! and i have a kick-ass mashed potato recipe also! (featuring garlic, sour cream, & cream cheese, among other things) it's a heart attack waiting to happen, but oh so yummy. actually i eat it veganized now, so it's not so bad.

to the original question...if i could say something to someone...the first thing that popped into my head was this:

(Regarding the CBS series "The Cut" that I watch because there is nothing else on):

to tommy hilfiger (sp?): THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for getting rid of that tommy guy. everytime i had to watch him be a total bitch to everyone with his queen attitude i literally had a volcano of anxiety in my chest waiting to erupt. now that he is gone i can breathe easier. THANK YOU!

Here via Michele's Meet & Greet. Cute little mermaid you have there--I have one of my own, also called Em (or usually Emily). Luckily we're invited to someone else's house on the Fourth, so I don't have to cook. I will be doing the Happy Dance instead!

About Me

SO much has changed in my life since I last blogged regularly in 2010. I'm 39 now, single and trying to be the best mom I can be as well as doing the best I can for my unbelievably precious daughter who’s now 11 and my beautiful, inquisitive little man who turned 3 in November. I'm learning to live again with joy and happiness and a new lease on life. God has really been working in my life and BIG changes are in the works and I'm incredibly excited about them!
One of the changes is becoming a distributor and advisor for AdvoCare. After seeing what it did for me on the 24 Day Challenge (lost 15 pounds and an overall total of 32.5") I was sold, not only from the external physical results, but the internal ones as well. I've never felt so good!
As the Gary Allan song goes, "Life ain’t always beautiful but it’s a beautiful ride". I hope to take you along on the ride through my life as it changes and as I continue to change. I hope you stay a while and enjoy yourselves and maybe learn a little about coping with unexpected circumstances in life with the help of God. Come back soon!